BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority's higher planning council has reactivated a project to amend a section of the main highway connecting the southern and northern West Bank.

Original plans to build a new section of the Wadi al-Nar road were submitted more than a year ago to the ministry of local governance’s Bethlehem office and the municipal councils of al-Ubeidiya and Dar Salah. The new section would run through private lands in both towns.

The new route would bypass the hazardous hair-pin bends and steep cliff-side roads that snake around the hills of Wadi al-Nar, or the Valley of Fire. The road is the site of frequent, sometimes fatal, car accidents.

The road used to be a dirt track, but it became the main highway for Palestinians after Israeli authorities closed Jerusalem, forcing Palestinians to take the long detour around the city.

The mayor of al-Ubeidiya, Suleiman al-Asa, says the new section of the road is a top national priority because the road connects the south to the north.

The new route will be much safer for Palestinian vehicles and will reduce heavy traffic in al-Ubeidiya and Dar Salah, the mayor added.

1 ) Mitri I. Musleh / Canada

04/05/2013 16:23

While I could not agree less on the need to fix the Wadi al-Nar road, I believe this is only one aspect of the problem. The other two major aspects of the problem that are in need of fixing lie within the lack of enforcing traffic laws and the way some individual Palestinians drive their vehicles. Only by fixing all aspects of the problem that you might eliminate or reduce fatal accidents.

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